Radio reception apparatus, radio transmission apparatus, and radio communication method

ABSTRACT

Where first and second reference signals for a first and second communication system, respectively, are transmitted, resources that affect a reception apparatus compatible only with the first communication system can be minimized, and the throughput can be prevented from being deteriorated. As resources for a reference signal CSI-RS for LTE-A, last half symbols in a time direction of a resource unit RB/Sub-frame defined in a frequency-time domain are used, and the CSI-RS is allocated in a position up to the last two symbols or in the last symbol, or the like, of a particular RB/Sub-frame and transmitted when a reference signal  4 RS for LTE is transmitted to a reception apparatus in addition to transmitting CSI-RS for LTE-A. The reception apparatus receives CSI-RS allocated in the last half symbol of RB/Sub-frame based on CSI-RS allocation information, measures channel quality by using this CSI-RS, and transmits and reports feedback information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/133,893 filed on Sep. 18, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/812,283 filed on Nov. 14, 2017, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/264,940 filed onSep. 14, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/969,943 filed on Dec. 15, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/698,372 filed on Apr. 28, 2015, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/552,687 filed onNov. 25, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/254,628 filed on Sep. 2, 2011, which is the national stage entryof International Application No. PCT/JP2010/000835 filed on Feb. 10,2010, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No.2009-063120 filed on Mar. 16, 2009, each of which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a radio reception apparatus, a radiotransmission apparatus, and a radio communication method which areapplicable to a radio communication system such as a cellular system.

BACKGROUND ART

In a radio communication system such as a cellular system, a referencesignal for obtaining various indexes of a propagation channel and atransmission signal is introduced. Such a reference signal (RS) is alsoused, for example, in LTE (Long Term Evolution) for a next generationcommunication system studied in 3GPP (3rd Generation PartnershipProject) which is an international standards body for mobilecommunication. In downlink communication from a base station to a userequipment, a reference signal which is transmitted from the transmissionapparatus (base station) to the reception apparatus (user equipment) isused as principal uses in (1) estimation of a propagation channel fordemodulation, (2) a quality measurement for the frequency scheduling orthe adaptive MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) control, or the like. InLTE, in a multi-antenna system for applying MIMO (Multiple InputMultiple Output), a reference signal is transmitted in a predeterminedradio resource unit.

In LTE-advanced (hereinafter, referred to as LTE-A) which is acommunication system that advances LTE, in order to achieve furthersophistication, introduction of high-order MIMO (for example,transmission 8 antenna) or cooperative multipoint transmission/reception(CoMP) is studied. In addition to the reference signal (first referencesignal) which is studied in LTE, therefore, an additional referencesignal (second reference signal) is necessary for LTE-A, and a method oftransmission is discussed.

As shown in Non-Patent Literature 1, for example, two kinds of referencesignals respectively for the above-described uses are studied in LTE-A.

(1) Demodulation RS: one for PDSCH (Physical downlink shared channel)demodulation, to which the same layer number as that of PDSCH andPrecoding are applied, and specific to User Equipment (UE)(UE-specific).

(2) CSI-RS: one for CSI (Channel State Information) measurement, (asCSI, there are CQI (Channel Quality Indicator), PMI (Precoding MatrixIndicator), RI (Rank Indicator), and the like), to which Precoding isnot applied, and specific to a cell (cell-specific).

However, the use is not mutually exclusive. Specifically, the argumentis advanced on the assumption that CSI-RS may be used in the use of (1).

FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of a frame of LTE. In LTE, theminimum unit of the frequency scheduling and the adaptive MCS control isdefined as Resource Block (RB, hereinafter referred to as RB) in thefrequency direction, and Sub-frame in the time direction. In the signalconfiguration of one sub-frame and RB (hereinafter, this is referred toas 1 RB/Sub-frame) functioning as a resource unit, as shown in a framein which RB15 of Sub-frame #0 in the figure is enlarged, a controlsignal and the reference signal RS are allocated from the head of thetime axis, and then data are allocated. Here, 1 RB/Sub-frame consists of12 sub-carriers in the frequency direction, and 14 OFDM symbols in thetime direction. The reference signal RS is allocated in a specific OFDMsymbol and sub-carrier in 1 RB/Sub-frame. The unit of these OFDM symboland sub-carrier is called RE (Resource Element). There are 168 REs intotal in 1 RB/Sub-frame in the case of the number of OFDM symbols andthe number of sub-carriers.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional example of theabove-described CSI-RS transmission method corresponding to LTE-A. Theexample of FIG. 13 shows, as an example of the CSI-RS transmissionmethod for LTE-A, a method of transmitting CSI-RS for 8 antennas byusing only specific RB/Sub-frames (for example, see Non-PatentLiterature 2). As shown in FIG. 13, the method is configured so thatCSI-RS (second reference signal) for 8 antennas is transmitted by usingonly the RB/Sub-frames indicated by the oblique lines, and, in the otherRB/Sub-frames, only 4RS (first reference signal) corresponding to 4antennas for LTE is transmitted. In the signal configuration of 1RB/Sub-frame, as shown in a frame in which RB12 of Sub-frame #0 in thefigure is enlarged, a control signal and the reference signal RS for LTEare allocated from the head of the time axis, and then CSI-RS for 8antennas and data are allocated together with the reference signal RSfor LTE. In this case, CSI-RS has a form in which RE for data isreallocated.

The CSI-RS transmission method is configured so that 4RS for LTE istransmitted also in the former resource (RB/Sub-frames of the obliquelines) in which CSI-RS is transmitted, thereby enabling also an LTE userequipment to measure CQI and receive data. Furthermore, RB/Sub-framesfor transmitting CSI-RS for 8 antennas are discretely allocated.However, it is possible to accurately measure CQI in each resource byinterpolating/averaging the resources.

CITATION LIST Non-Patent Literature

-   Non-Patent Literature 1: 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #56, R1-091066, CATT,    CMCC, Ericsson, Huawei, LGE, Motorola, Nokia, Nokia Siemens    Networks, Nortel, Panasonic, Philips, Qualcomm Europe, Samsung,    Texas Instruments, “Way forward on downlink reference signals for    LTE-A”, Feb. 9-13, 2009-   Non-Patent Literature 2: 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #56, R1-090619, Samsung,    “DL RS Designs for Higher Order MIMO”, Feb. 9-13, 2009

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the above-described conventional CSI-RS transmission method, as shownin the frames of FIG. 13, in RB/Sub-frames for transmitting CSI-RS, thedata part is punctured, and therefore the demodulation performance of anLTE user equipment is deteriorated, thereby causing a problem in thatthe throughput is lowered.

The invention has been conducted in view of the above-describedcircumstances. It is an object of the invention to provide a radioreception apparatus, a radio transmission apparatus, and a radiocommunication method in which, in the case where a second referencesignal for a second communication system is transmitted in addition to afirst reference signal for a first communication system, resources thataffect a reception apparatus compatible only with the firstcommunication system can be minimized, and the throughput can beprevented from being deteriorated.

Solution to Problem

The present invention provides, as a first aspect, a radio receptionapparatus to be used in a radio communication system where communicationis performed by using a plurality of resources defined in afrequency-time domain, the radio reception apparatus including: aresource information acquiring section which is configured to acquireresource allocation information for a second reference signal when thesecond reference signal for a second communication system is transmittedfrom a radio transmission apparatus in addition to transmitting a firstreference signal for a first communication system, in a case where lasthalf symbols in a time direction of a resource unit defined in thefrequency-time domain are used as resources for the second referencesignal; a receiver which is configured to receive a signal containingthe second reference signal transmitted from the transmission apparatus;a channel quality measuring section which is configured to measure achannel quality of a transmission channel by using the second referencesignal that is allocated in the last half symbols of a specific resourceunit in the time direction, on the basis of the resource allocationinformation; and a feedback information transmitter which is configuredto transmit feedback information containing channel quality informationindicative of the channel quality, to the transmission apparatus.

The present invention includes, as a second aspect, the radio receptionapparatus, wherein the channel quality measuring section measures thechannel quality by means of the second reference signal which istransmitted to be allocated in a position up to the last two symbols ofthe specific resource unit in the time direction.

The present invention includes, as a third aspect, the radio receptionapparatus, wherein the channel quality measuring section measures thechannel quality by means of the second reference signal which istransmitted to be allocated in the last symbol of the specific resourceunit in the time direction.

The present invention includes, as a fourth aspect, the radio receptionapparatus, wherein the channel quality measuring section measures thechannel quality by means of the second reference signal which istransmitted to be allocated in a position of a last half symbol of thespecific resource unit in the time direction, the position correspondingto allocation of specific control information in a frequency direction.

The present invention includes, as a fifth aspect, the radio receptionapparatus, wherein the first communication system is LTE (Long TermEvolution), the second communication system is LTE-A (LTE-advanced), andthe channel quality measuring section measures the channel quality bymeans of the second reference signal which is transmitted to beallocated in a position of the last symbol of the specific resource unitin the time direction, the position corresponding to a frequencyallocation of a control format indicator channel (PCFICH).

The present invention provides, as a sixth aspect, a radio transmissionapparatus to be used in a radio communication system where communicationis performed by using a plurality of resources defined in afrequency-time domain, the radio transmission apparatus including: aresource setting section which is configured to perform resource settingused in a case where last half symbols in a time direction of a resourceunit defined in the frequency-time domain are used as resources for asecond reference signal when the second reference signal for a secondcommunication system is transmitted to a radio reception apparatus inaddition to transmitting a first reference signal for a firstcommunication system; a reference signal generator which is configuredto generate and allocate the second reference signal in the last halfsymbols of a specific resource unit in the time direction, on the basisof the resource setting for the second reference signal; a transmitterwhich is configured to transmit a signal containing the second referencesignal to the reception apparatus; a feedback information acquiringsection which is configured to receive feedback information informedfrom the reception apparatus, and acquire channel quality informationcontained in the feedback information; and a scheduler which isconfigured to perform scheduling containing at least one of frequencyscheduling and an adaptive MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) controlrelated to a transmission signal, on the basis of the channel qualityinformation.

The present invention includes, as a seventh aspect, the radiotransmission apparatus, wherein the resource setting section performsthe resource setting in which the second reference signal is allocatedin a position up to the last two symbols of the specific resource unitin the time direction.

The present invention includes, as an eighth aspect, the radiotransmission apparatus, wherein the resource setting section performsthe resource setting in which the second reference signal is allocatedin the last symbol of the specific resource unit in the time direction.

The present invention includes, as a ninth aspect, the radiotransmission apparatus, wherein the resource setting section performsthe resource setting in which the second reference signal is allocatedin a position of a last half symbol of the specific resource unit in thetime direction, the position corresponding to allocation of specificcontrol information in a frequency direction.

The present invention includes, as a tenth aspect, the radiotransmission apparatus, wherein the first communication system is LTE,the second communication system is LTE-A, and the resource settingsection performs the resource setting in which the second referencesignal is allocated in a position of the last symbol of the specificresource unit in the time direction, the position corresponding to afrequency allocation of a control format indicator channel.

The present invention provides, as an eleventh aspect a radiocommunication method in a radio reception apparatus which performscommunication by using a plurality of resources defined in afrequency-time domain, the radio communication method including thesteps of: acquiring resource allocation information for a secondreference signal when the second reference signal for a secondcommunication system is transmitted from a radio transmission apparatusin addition to transmitting a first reference signal for a firstcommunication system, in a case where last half symbols in a timedirection of a resource unit defined in the frequency-time domain areused as resources for the second reference signal; receiving a signalcontaining the second reference signal transmitted from the transmissionapparatus; measuring a channel quality of a transmission channel byusing the second reference signal that is allocated in the last halfsymbols of a specific resource unit in the time direction, on the basisof the resource allocation information; and transmitting feedbackinformation containing channel quality information indicative of thechannel quality, to the transmission apparatus.

The present invention provides, as a twelfth aspect, a radiocommunication method in a radio transmission apparatus which performscommunication by using a plurality of resources defined in afrequency-time domain, the radio communication method including thesteps of: performing resource setting used in a case where last halfsymbols in a time direction of a resource unit defined in thefrequency-time domain are used as resources for a second referencesignal when the second reference signal for a second communicationsystem is transmitted to a radio reception apparatus in addition totransmitting a first reference signal for a first communication system;generating and allocating the second reference signal in the last halfsymbols of a specific resource unit in the time direction, on the basisof the resource setting for the second reference signal; transmitting asignal containing the second reference signal to the receptionapparatus;

receiving feedback information informed from the reception apparatus,and acquiring channel quality information contained in the feedbackinformation; and performing scheduling containing at least one offrequency scheduling and an adaptive MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme)control related to a transmission signal, on the basis of the channelquality information.

According to the configuration, when the second reference signal for thesecond communication system is transmitted in addition to the firstreference signal for the first communication system, the secondreference signal is transmitted by using last half symbols in the timedirection of the resource unit defined in the frequency-time domain,whereby resources that affect a reception apparatus compatible only withthe first communication system can be minimized. In this case, asystematic bit and a parity bit in data are allocated from the beginningof the resource, and the second reference signal is not located in thepart of the systematic bit of the data. Even in the case where thereception apparatus compatible only with the first communication systemis allocated to perform multiplexing, therefore, the possibility thatthe systematic bit of the data for the user equipment is punctured bythe second reference signal can be reduced. Therefore, the possibilitythat deterioration of the demodulation performance occurs can bereduced. Because of this, the throughput can be prevented from beingdeteriorated.

In allocation of the second reference signal, preferably, the signal isallocated in a position up to the last two symbols from the end of aspecific resource unit in the time direction, in a position of the lastsymbol, or the like. In the frequency direction, the second referencesignal is allocated in a position corresponding to allocation ofspecific control information. Therefore, the frequency resourcenotification of the control information can be diverted, and the secondreference signal can be widely distributed in the system band. In thecase where the first communication system and the second communicationsystem are caused to correspond to LTE and LTE-A, respectively, it ispreferable to allocate the second reference signal so as to correspondto the frequency allocation of the control format indicator channel(PCFICH). In this case, even when LTE user equipments are multiplexed,the second reference signal is allocated in a symbol in a position wherea parity bit is likely to be allocated. The possibility that thesystematic bit of the data for an LTE user equipment is punctured can bereduced. Therefore, deterioration of the demodulation performance in anLTE user equipment can be avoided. Because of this, the throughput canbe prevented from being deteriorated.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the invention, it is possible to provide a radio receptionapparatus, a radio transmission apparatus, and a radio communicationmethod in which, in the case where a second reference signal for asecond communication system is transmitted in addition to a firstreference signal for a first communication system, resources that affecta reception apparatus compatible only with the first communicationsystem can be minimized, and the throughput can be prevented from beingdeteriorated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main portions ofa reception apparatus which is used in embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main portions ofa transmission apparatus which is used in the embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a firstembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the rule of allocation of encoded bitsof LTE and the rule of allocation of CSI-RS according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a secondembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a firstmodification of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a secondmodification of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a thirdmodification of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a fourthmodification of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in amodification of the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a frame of LTE.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional example of a CSI-RStransmission method corresponding to LTE-A.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In embodiments of the invention, an example will be described in which aradio reception apparatus, a radio transmission apparatus, and a radiocommunication method are applied to a cellular system for mobilecommunication such as a mobile telephone. Here, a case where, in a radiocommunication system in which a base station (BS) is a transmissionapparatus, and a user equipment (UE) of a mobile station is a receptionapparatus, communication based on MIMO is performed will be exemplified.It is assumed that the base station communicates with a user equipmentcompatible with LTE which is a first communication system, and with auser equipment compatible with LTE-A which is a second communicationsystem. Here, the relationship between the first communication system(LTE) and the second communication system (LTE-A) is assumed that thesecond communication system is a communication system which, as comparedwith the first communication system, accepts a larger number oftransmission antennas in the reception side. In this case, referencesignals for performing the frequency scheduling and the adaptive MCScontrol are transmitted from the base station to the user equipment. Itis assumed that, as the reference signals, a second reference signalCSI-RS for LTE-A (for 8 antennas) is used in addition to a firstreference signal 4RS for LTE (for 4 antennas).

First Embodiment

As described in Background Art section, in LTE, an RB/Sub-frame which isa resource unit defined by RB in the frequency direction and Sub-framein the time direction is used as a plurality of resources which aredefined in a frequency-time domain of the frequency and the time. In theframe configuration of LTE, the frequency scheduling and the adaptiveMCS control are performed while taking an RB/Sub-frame as the minimumunit. In the embodiment, in one physical RB/Sub-frame, a referencesignal CSI-RS for LTE-A is transmitted while being allocated to a lasthalf symbol of a plurality of symbols in the time direction. In theembodiment, namely, attention is focused on the method of allocatingreference signals which are additionally transmitted, and a referencesignal CSI-RS for LTE-A is transmitted to be allocated to a last halfpart in a resource which is in a position where a parity bit is likelyallocated in allocation of data.

According to the configuration, in a specific RB/Sub-frame fortransmitting CSI-RS, CSI-RS is allocated in last half part of aplurality of symbols, particularly, several end symbols, specifically,positions up to the last two symbols or the last symbols from the ends,or the like. Thus, CSI-RS exists only in the vicinities of the ends ofresources of one physical RB/Sub-frame. A specific example of the CSI-RStransmission method in the embodiment will be described later in detail.

In the configuration which uses the above-described CSI-RS transmissionmethod, resources that affect an LTE user equipment compatible only withLTE can be minimized, whereby the throughput can be prevented from beingdeteriorated. More specifically, in the case where LTE user equipmentsare multiplexed in resources in which CSI-RS is transmitted, thepossibility that the systematic bit of the data part for an LTE userequipment is likely punctured by CSI-RS can be reduced, and hencedeterioration of the demodulation performance can be suppressed.According to the embodiment, therefore, deterioration of thedemodulation performance due to the reference signal CSI-RS for addedLTE-A can be avoided, and hence the throughput can be prevented frombeing lowered. According to the configuration, high-order MIMO andcooperative multipoint transmission/reception of a multi-antenna systemin a cellular system can be realized with excellent characteristics.

Next, the configuration of a specific example of reception andtransmission apparatuses of the radio communication system of theembodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main portions ofthe reception apparatus which is used in the embodiment of theinvention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration ofmain portions of a transmission apparatus which is used in theembodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment, a case where radio communication is performed byusing a radio wave between the reception apparatus shown in FIG. 1 andthe transmission apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is assumed. Here, it issupposed that the transmission apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is applied to aradio communication base station apparatus (base station, BS) in acellular system, and the reception apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is appliedto a user equipment (UE) which is a radio communication mobile stationsuch as a portable telephone. Here, it is presumed that a MIMO system inwhich radio transmission/reception is performed by using a plurality ofantennas in both transmission and reception is configured, thetransmission apparatus can perform transmission to each of a pluralityof reception apparatuses, and Precoding transmission in which theplurality of antennas are weighted in the transmission side isperformed. In the mode of a communication signal, for example, it isassumed that communication is performed according to a multicarriercommunication system using an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing) signal. As a specific example, the case where the basestation functioning as the transmission apparatus performs communicationwith an LTE user equipment compatible with LTE and LTE-A user equipmentcompatible with LTE-A which function as the reception apparatuses willbe exemplified.

The reception apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of antennas111 a, 111 b, a plurality of reception RF sections 112 a, 112 b, achannel estimator 113, a CQI measuring section 114, a MIMO demodulator115, a decoder 116, a CRC checker 117, a feedback information generator118, an encoder 119, a multiplexer 120, a transmission RF section 121,and a control signal demodulator 122.

A radio wave transmitted from a counter apparatus (for example, thetransmission apparatus shown in FIG. 2) is received by the plurality ofindependent antennas 111 a, 111 b. The high-frequency signal of theradio wave received at the antenna 111 a is converted in the receptionRF section 112 a into a signal of a relatively low frequency band suchas a baseband signal, and then subjected to processes of Fouriertransform, parallel/serial conversion, and the like to be converted intoa reception signal of serial data. Similarly, the high-frequency signalof the radio wave received at the antenna 111 b is converted in thereception RF section 112 b into a signal of a relatively low frequencyband such as a baseband signal, and then subjected to processes ofFourier transform, parallel/serial conversion, and the like to beconverted into a reception signal of serial data. The outputs of thereception RF sections 112 a, 112 b are input to the channel estimator113, the MIMO demodulator 115, and the control signal demodulator 122.

The channel estimator 113 estimate channel based on reference signalscontained in the signals transmitted from the transmission antennas ofthe counter apparatus (transmission apparatus), and calculates a channelestimation value. In this case, based on control information which isseparately informed from the transmission apparatus, the receptionapparatus identifies the positions of the reference signals formeasuring the channel quality. Specifically, the channel estimator 113receives CSI-RS allocation information as resource information for thesecond reference signal, and acquires the transmission sub-frame towhich CSI-RS that is the reference signal for measuring the channelquality is allocated, and the ID of RB. Then, a channel estimatingprocess is performed while assuming that reference signals are allocatedin specific sub-carriers of the OFDM symbol which is on the last halfside in the time axis of the corresponding resource. The CSI-RSallocation information is informed with control information from thebase station (counter transmission apparatus) or the like. The controlsignal demodulator 122 demodulates a control signal transmitted from thebase station or the like, and extracts and acquires control informationsuch as transmission parameters containing CSI-RS allocation informationrelated to setting of a resource in which CSI-RS is allocated, andinformation of MCS such as the modulation method and encoding ratio ofthe transmission signal. In this case, the control signal demodulator122 previously receives and demodulates the CSI-RS allocationinformation, and holds it. The channel estimation value calculated bythe channel estimator 113 is input to the CQI measuring section 114 andthe MIMO demodulator 115.

The CQI measuring section 114 calculates CQI as the channel quality(reception quality) by using the channel estimation value which isoutput by the channel estimator 113, and outputs it to the feedbackinformation generator 118. In this case, similarly with the channelestimator 113, the CQI measuring section 114 receives the CSI-RSallocation information, and acquires the transmission sub-frame to whichCSI-RS that is the reference signal for measuring the channel quality isallocated, and the ID of RB. The frequency/time intervals at which theresources are allocated are identified, processes of averaging andinterpolation are performed on the obtained channel estimation value,and then channel quality information is calculated. Specific examples ofthe channel quality information are CQI corresponding to a predeterminedcombination of the modulation method and the encoding ratio, PMI whichselects a precoding matrix fitting to the current channel situation froma predetermined codebook, and RI corresponding to the desired number oftransmission streams.

The MIMO demodulator 115 performs a process of demodulating thereception signal corresponding to the own apparatus (own receptionapparatus) by using the channel estimation value received from thechannel estimator 113, and outputs the demodulated signal to the decoder116. In this case, a deinterleave process, a Rate-Dematching process, alikelihood combining process, and the like are performed. The decoder116 performs a decoding process on the signal input from the MIMOdemodulator 115 to restore the received data. In this case, an errorcorrection decoding process is applied to the signal which is receivedfrom the MIMO demodulator 115, and which has been undergone the MIMOseparation, and then the signal is output to the CRC checker 117. TheCRC checker 117 performs an error detecting process by CRC (CyclicRedundancy Check) check on the decoded signal which is output from thedecoder 116, and outputs data error existence information indicatingwhether the decoded reception data contain an error or not, to thefeedback information generator 118. Then, the reception data are outputfrom the CRC checker 117.

The feedback information generator 118 generates feedback informationcontaining the channel quality information (CQI, PMI, RI, or the like)calculated by the CQI measuring section 114. Furthermore, the feedbackinformation generator 118 determines whether the decoded reception datacontain an error or not, based on the result of the error detection inthe CRC checker 117, and generates Ack/Nack information. If the decodingresult does not contain an error, the feedback information generator 118generates Ack (Acknowledgement), and generates Nack (NegativeAcknowledgement) if the decoding result contains an error.

The encoder 119 performs a process of encoding the transmission data,and then outputs the data to the multiplexer 120. The multiplexer 120performs a multiplexing process on the input feedback information, thetransmission signal containing the encoded transmission data, etc. Then,the multiplexer 120 performs a Rate-Matching process of adaptivelysetting the number of modulation multiple values and the coding ratio,an interleave process, a modulating process, and the like, and outputs aresult to the transmission RF section 121. The transmission RF section121 performs processes of serial/parallel conversion, inverse Fouriertransform, and the like, then conversion into a high-frequency signal ofa predetermined radio frequency band, power amplification, and thentransmission as a radio wave from the antenna 111 a. At this time, thefeedback information such as the channel quality information and theAck/Nack information transmitted from the reception apparatus istransmitted to the transmission apparatus as a feedback signal to beinformed.

In the above-described configuration, the control signal demodulator 122implements the function of a resource information acquiring section.Moreover, the reception RF sections 112 a, 112 b and the MIMOdemodulator 115 implement the function of a receiver. Furthermore, thechannel estimator 113 and the CQI measuring section 114 implement thefunction of a channel quality measuring section. Furthermore, thefeedback information generator 118, the multiplexer 120, and thetransmission RF section 121 implement the function of a feedbackinformation transmitter.

On the other hand, the transmission apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes aplurality of user equipment signal processors 231 m, 231 n, aencoder/modulator 232, a precoding processor 233, a plurality oftransmission RF sections 234 a to 234 d, and 234 e to 234 h, a pluralityof antennas 235 a to 235 d, and 235 e to 235 h, a scheduler 236, aCSI-RS allocation setting section 237, a CSI-RS generator 238, an LTE4RS generator 239, a reception RF section 241, a separator 242, ademodulator/decoder 243, a CRC checker 244, and a feedback informationdemodulator 245.

A radio wave transmitted from a counter apparatus (for example, thereception apparatus shown in FIG. 1) is received by the antenna 235 a.The high-frequency signal of the radio wave received at the antenna 235a is converted into a signal of a relatively low frequency band such asa baseband signal in the reception RF section 241, and then input to theseparator 242. The separator 242 separates the feedback signal from thereception signal, and outputs the feedback signal to the feedbackinformation demodulator 245, and the other reception signal to thedemodulator/decoder 243. The channel quality information, Ack/Nackinformation, and the like contained in the feedback signal aredemodulated in the feedback information demodulator 245, and input tothe scheduler 236. Based on the channel quality information informedfrom the reception apparatus, the scheduler 236 executes at least one ofthe frequency scheduling and the adaptive MCS control, as schedulingrelated to the transmission signal.

The demodulator/decoder 243 performs a demodulating process and adecoding process on the reception signal separated in the separator 242to restore the received data. The CRC checker 244 executes an errordetecting process based on CRC checking on the decoded signal outputfrom the demodulator/decoder 243, and determines whether the decodedreception data contain an error or not. Then, the reception data areoutput from the CRC checker 244.

The user equipment signal processors 231 m, 231 n perform a signalprocess on transmission signals for LTE-A, LTE, and the like, that is,corresponding to respective user equipments, and each of the processorshas the encoder/modulator 232 and the precoding processor 233. Theencoder/modulator 232 performs an encoding process on the transmissiondata, a multiplexing process on the control signal and the like, aRate-Matching process, an interleave process, a modulating process, andthe like, and outputs a result to the precoding processor 233. Theprecoding processor 233 performs a weighting process for forming a beamof a transmission wave on respective transmission signals which are tobe output to the plurality of antennas, and outputs the transmissionsignals to the transmission RF sections 234 a to 234 d, and 234 e to 234h of the antennas.

In the transmission RF sections 234 a to 234 d, and 234 e to 234 h, thetransmission signals are subjected to processes of serial/parallelconversion, inverse Fourier transform, and the like, then converted intohigh-frequency signals of a predetermined radio frequency band, poweramplified, and thereafter transmitted as radio waves from the antennas235 a to 235 d, and 235 e to 235 h. A transmitter for LTE-A in theillustrated example generates transmission signals which are to betransmitted by using the 8 antennas. The transmission signals from thetransmission apparatus are transmitted to the reception apparatus as,for example, a pilot channel, a control signal, a data signal containingvarious data, etc. Here, the pilot channel and the control signal aretransmitted as non-directional signals which do not form a beam, and thedata signal is transmitted as a directional signal in which apredetermined beam corresponding to a beam number is formed by precodingin a predetermined transmission channel.

The CSI-RS allocation setting section 237 separately informs the userequipments of CSI-RS allocation information, and notifies CSI-RSallocation information to the CSI-RS generator 238 and the scheduler236. The CSI-RS generator 238 generates a reference signal CSI-RS forLTE-A (for 8 antennas), and allocates the CSI-RS in the resourcecorresponding to transmission sub-frame and the ID of RB. The LTE 4RSgenerator 239 generates a reference signal 4RS for LTE (for 4 antennas),and allocates it in resources. In the configuration example of FIG. 2,it is supposed that transmission is performed while, with the intentionof application to high-order MIMO, CSI-RS is allocated in Ant #4 to Ant#7 (the antennas 235 e to 235 h), and, in Ant #0 to Ant #3 (the antennas235 a to 235 d), only the reference signal 4RS for LTE is allocated.Here, the description has been made with reference to the figure inwhich application to high-order MIMO is intended. However, transmissionof CSI-RS is not limited to this. In the case where antenna referencesignals which are larger in number than those for LTE are received inthe reception side, for example, an operation of receiving referencesignals transmitted from a plurality of base stations may be possible.Here, the example in which LTE is set to 4 antennas and high-order MIMOis set to additional 4 antennas has been described. The configuration isnot limited to this. For example, LTE may be set to 2 antennas andhigh-order MIMO may be set to additional two antennas, a combination ofthe both may be employed, or a total of 8 antennas in which LTE is setto 2 antennas and high-order MIMO is set to additional 6 antennas may beemployed. Here, the example in which CSI-RS is not allocated in theantennas where the reference signal for LTE is allocated has beendescribed. The configuration is not limited to this. For example, CSI-RSmay be allocated in all of the antennas Ant #0 to Ant #7.

The scheduler 236 performs allocation of the user equipments by usingthe received CSI-RS allocation information. In this case, based on thetransmission sub-frame and the ID of RB corresponding to CSI-RS,allocation of LTE user equipments is performed by using DVRB(Distributed Virtual RB) which is a distribution resource defined byLTE, LVRB (Localized Virtual RB) which is a continuous allocationresource, or the like. Here, DVRB is a distributed type resourceconfigured so that one physical RB/Sub-frame is divided into first andlast half slots in the time direction, and resources of a unit of onelogical RB/Sub-frame are hopped in the first and last half slots in thefrequency direction to be discretely allocated in two different physicalRB/Sub-frames at predetermined frequency intervals, thereby causingresources to be distributedly allocated. LVRB is a continuous allocationtype resource where resources are concentrically allocated by, forexample, continuously allocating resources.

In the above-described configuration, the CSI-RS allocation settingsection 237 implements the function of a resource setting section. TheCSI-RS generator 238 implements the function of a reference signalgenerator. The user equipment signal processors 231 m, 231 n and thetransmission RF sections 234 a to 234 d, and 234 e to 234 h implementthe function of a transmitter. The reception RF section 241, theseparator 242, and the feedback information demodulator 245 implementthe function of a feedback information acquiring section.

Next, the method of transmitting CSI-RS which is the reference signalfor measuring the channel quality will be described in detail. FIG. 3 isa diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in the firstembodiment, and shows an allocation example of reference signals,control signals, data, and the like on resources. In the firstembodiment, it is assumed that, among RBs of Sub-frame #0, referencesignal allocation resources are set every 4 RBs (RB0, RB4, RB8, RB12)with starting from RB0, and a symbol which is in the last side (lasthalf side) of the corresponding resource in the time direction, forexample, the last 1 or 2 symbols of the end (blocks indicated bynet-like hatching in the figure) is used in transmission of thereference signal CSI-RS. An example in which an LTE user equipment isallocated to RB0, RB1, RB2, RB3, RB5, RB7, RB8, RB9, RB10, RB12, RB13,RB14 (blocks indicated by lattice hatching in the figure) is shown.

The CSI-RS allocation setting section 237 sets resources of referencesignals so that CSI-RS is allocated in a symbol which is in the lasthalf side in the time direction, for example, the last one or twosymbols of the end of one RB/Sub-frame, in resources at predeterminedfrequency intervals, as described above. In accordance with theabove-described allocation setting of CSI-RS, the CSI-RS generator 238generates CSI-RS, and allocates it in a symbol of the correspondingresource. Based on the above-described allocation setting of CSI-RS, thescheduler 236 allocates an LTE user equipment to a resource containing aRB/Sub-frame for transmitting CSI-RS.

Here, the allocation relationship of the allocation of CSI-RS in oneRB/Sub-frame and a systematic bit and parity bit of the data part willbe described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the rule of allocation ofencoded bits of LTE and the rule of allocation of CSI-RS according tothe embodiment. Each encoded bit has a systematic bit (S) whichindicates the data body before encoding, and a parity bit (P) whichindicates redundant data added by encoding. In LTE, a signal afterrate-matching is allocated in the allocation resource in accordance withthe frequency-first rule from the beginning of the resource. In theallocation resource of one RB/Sub-frame, namely, allocation startingfrom the systematic bit is performed in sub-carriers from the top OFDMsymbol in the frequency direction, and thereafter returned to the topsub-carrier of the next OFDM symbol, and allocation in the frequencydirection is applied. This is repeated until the last symbol. In thetransmission data, therefore, the systematic bit is allocated in thehead side in the time axis in the allocation resource, and the paritybit is allocated in the rear side. Therefore, the last half symbol inthe corresponding resource has a higher possibility that the parity bitis allocated.

In the embodiment, therefore, CSI-RS is allocated in an allocation rulewhich is opposite to the rule of allocation of encoded bits of the datapart, as shown in FIG. 4. Namely, CSI-RS is sequentially allocated withstarting from the end symbol in the time axis in the allocationresource, oppositely also in the frequency direction. At this time, asshown in a frame in which RB12 of Sub-frame #0 is enlarged in FIG. 3, RE(symbol sub-carrier) for transmitting CSI-RS is located in the endportion in the allocation resource of one RB/Sub-frame, and RE in aposition corresponding to the parity bit in data for a user equipment isreallocated with CSI-RS. Therefore, puncture of the data part by CSI-RScan be prevented from affecting the systematic bit. As compared with thecase where the systematic bit is reallocated with CSI-RS, therefore, ademodulation error in demodulation of the corresponding data can becaused to hardly occur. The CSI-RS allocation information instructingthe allocation of the reference signal may be informed as notificationinformation indicating control information of the whole cell, or may beinformed as Radio resource control (RRC) information for individual userequipment.

In the embodiment, in the reception apparatus, by using the referencesignal CSI-RS which is allocated in a symbol in a last half side in thetime axis in a sub-frame of a specific resource that is previouslyinformed by the CSI-RS allocation, the channel quality is measured, andreported to the transmission apparatus. In the transmission apparatus,the specific resource which is used in transmission of CSI-RS ispreviously informed to the reception apparatus, the reference signalCSI-RS is transmitted by using a symbol in a last half side in the timeaxis in a sub-frame of the corresponding resource, and a result of themeasurement of the channel quality is received from the receptionapparatus. By using the result of the measurement of the channel qualitywhich is reported from the reception apparatus, the frequency schedulingand the adaptive MCS control are performed.

Here, the reference signal CSI-RS for LTE-A is allocated in the lasthalf side of a specific RB/Sub-frame in the time direction, and CSI-RSis not located in the part of the systematic bit of data for a userequipment allocated from the beginning of the resource. Even in the casewhere an LTE user equipment is allocated to a resource of a RB/Sub-framefor transmitting CSI-RS and multiplexing is performed, therefore, thepossibility that the systematic bit of the data for the LTE userequipment is punctured can be reduced. Therefore, the possibility thatdeterioration of the demodulation performance occurs in the LTE userequipment can be reduced. Because of this, the throughput can beprevented from being deteriorated.

(Modifications)

In the first embodiment described above, the operation of transmittingCSI-RS is performed by means of an arbitrary resource which ispreviously informed. Alternatively, an operation of transmitting CSI-RSin accordance with the allocation of the notification information may beperformed. A specific example will be described as a modification. InLTE, in accordance with the method of using a physical resource,notification information can be classified into three kinds or MIB(Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block) 1, and SIB 2to SIB 11 (i.e., SIBs subsequent to SIB 2).

In more detail, MIB is transmitted by P-BCH (Physical Broadcast Channel)using a fixed sub-frame (for example, Sub-frame #0) and a fixedfrequency resource. Moreover, SIB 1 is transmitted by a fixed sub-frame(for example, Sub-frame #5 every three frames). Furthermore, SIBssubsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted by one of transmittable sub-frames(SI-window) indicated in scheduling information contained in SIB 1. Inthe case of SIBs subsequent to SIB 2, a sub-frame in which SIB istransmitted is indicated in a downlink control channel (for example,PDCCH (Physical Dedicated Control Channel)) which is informed by thesub-frame. In a terminal, namely, it is not known which one ofsub-frames is used for transmitting SIBs subsequent to SIB 2, untilPDCCH is received by the sub-frame. PDCCH contains also informationindicating which one of RBs is used for transmitting SIBs subsequent toSIB 2.

Here, the above-described notification information must be received byboth an LTE user equipment and an LTE-A user equipment. When thenotification information is transmitted by using RB in which CSI-RS isallocated, therefore, the systematic bit of the notification informationis punctured, and the demodulation performance is deterioratedparticularly in an LTE user equipment.

When an operation of transmitting CSI-RS is performed in accordance withthe allocation of the notification information while considering thispoint, it is possible to prevent the error rate characteristic ofnotification information in an LTE user equipment from beingdeteriorated. More specifically, in a sub-frame in which MIB or SIB 1 istransmitted, CSI-RS is not transmitted, and, in a sub-frame in whichSIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted, CSI-RS is allocated inspecific RB in a similar manner as the first embodiment. By contrast,SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted by using RB other than RB inwhich CSI-RS is allocated. In an LTE-A user equipment, a sub-frame inwhich MIB or SIB 1 is transmitted is already known. Therefore, an LTE-Auser equipment may be configured so that CQI measurement is notperformed in a sub-frame in which MIB or SIB 1 is transmitted. In asub-frame in which MIB or SIB 1 that must be received by both an LTEuser equipment and an LTE-A user equipment is transmitted, moreover,CSI-RS is not allocated, and notification information is not punctured.When the base station transmits notification information while encodingit with a sufficiently low encoding ratio, therefore, it is possible toprevent the error rate characteristic of notification information in asub-frame in which notification information is transmitted, from beingdeteriorated.

By contrast, SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted by using RB otherthan RB in which CSI-RS is allocated. In an LTE-A user equipment, asub-frame in which SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted is notknown. In the embodiment, however, an LTE-A user equipment can performusual CQI measurement irrespective of whether it is a sub-frame in whichSIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted or not. In an LTE-A userequipment, therefore, it is not necessary to determine whether, afterPDCCH is received, CQI measurement is to be performed or not, and hencesimplification of a user equipment process and reduction of delay can berealized. Moreover, SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 are transmitted by RB inwhich only the reference signal RS for LTE that is used in both an LTEuser equipment and an LTE-A user equipment is allocated. Also in an LTEuser equipment, therefore, it is possible to surely receive notificationinformation.

In this case, in an LTE-A user equipment, a sub-frame is already knownin which notification information (notification information SIB+ for anLTE-A user equipment) that must be received by only an LTE-A userequipment in contrast to the above-described notification informationthat must be received by both an LTE user equipment and an LTE-A userequipment is transmitted. In an LTE-A user equipment, also CSI-RSallocation is already known. In the case where notification informationSIB+ for an LTE-A user equipment is transmitted, therefore, it is notrequired to impose limitation on a sub-frame (or RB) in which only thereference signal RS for LTE is allocated, and a sub-frame (or RB) inwhich SIB+ is transmitted.

In the modification, the example in which SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 aretransmitted by using RB other than RB in which CSI-RS is allocated hasbeen described. In the invention, however, SIBs subsequent to SIB 2 maybe transmitted by a sub-frame other than that in which CSI-RS isallocated. Alternatively, based on SI-window informed by SIB 1, CSI-RSmay be allocated in a sub-frame other than that in which SIBs subsequentto SIB 2 are transmitted.

Not only in MIB and SIB 1 to SIB 11, but also in, for example, asub-frame (MBSFN sub-frame) in which data of MBSFN (MBMS SingleFrequency Network) are transmitted, CSI-RS may not be allocated. Namely,CSI-RS may be allocated in a sub-frame other than an MBSFN sub-frame.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, in the case where CSI-RS is allocated in aresource of a specific RB/Sub-frame, transmission is performed whileCSI-RS is allocated by, in the last symbol in a sub-frame, using thefrequency allocation of specific control information, specifically, thefrequency allocation of Physical Control Format Indicator Channel(PCFICH). Here, only points which are different from the firstembodiment will be described. The configurations of the receptionapparatus and the transmission apparatus are identical with those of thefirst embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and their description isomitted. In the second embodiment, the operations of the CSI-RSallocation setting section 237 and CSI-RS generator 238 in thetransmission apparatus, and the contents of CSI-RS allocationinformation which is informed from the transmission apparatus to thereception apparatus are different.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in the secondembodiment, and shows an allocation example of reference signals,control signals, data, and the like on resources. In the secondembodiment, among specific RB/Sub-frames (RB0, RB4, RB8, RB12 in theillustrated example) for transmitting CSI-RS, the last OFDM symbol isused, and the reference signal CSI-RS is allocated and transmitted by RE(blocks indicated by net-like hatching in the figure) of a sub-carrierof the frequency corresponding to the PCFICH frequency resource (blocksindicated by oblique hatching in the figure) which is in the top OFDMsymbol.

The CSI-RS allocation setting section 237 sets resources of referencesignals so that CSI-RS is allocated in the frequency resourcecorresponding to the frequency allocation of PCFICH in the last OFDMsymbol of a specific RB/Sub-frame as described above. In accordance withthe above-described setting of CSI-RS allocation, the CSI-RS generator238 generates CSI-RS, and allocates it in the corresponding resource.Based on the above-described setting of CSI-RS allocation, the scheduler236 allocates user equipments including an LTE user equipment toresources including RB/Sub-frames for transmitting CSI-RS.

At this time, similarly with the first embodiment, CSI-RS is allocatedin a symbol in a position where the possibility that a parity bit isallocated is high, and the data part of the parity bit part ispunctured. Therefore, it is possible to prevent from affecting thesystematic bit, and deterioration of the demodulation performance in anLTE user equipment can be avoided. In the embodiment, the frequencyresource notification of PCFICH is diverted in allocation of CSI-RS, sothat CSI-RS can be widely distributed in the system band.

(Modifications)

Hereinafter, several modifications of the second embodiment will bedescribed. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method ina first modification of the second embodiment. In the firstmodification, the frequency allocation rule of PCFICH is applied in theopposite direction. In the last OFDM symbol of a specific RB/Sub-frame,namely, CSI-RS is allocated in the opposite direction with starting fromthe tail end sub-carrier to the frequency resource of PCFICH.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a secondmodification of the second embodiment. In the second modification, theconfiguration where the frequency resource of PCFICH is defined inaccordance with the cell ID of the cellular system is diverted, and thefrequency allocation of PCFICH corresponding to cell ID+n is usedtogether with allocation of CSI-RS in the second embodiment. FIG. 7shows an example where CSI-RS is allocated in accordance with thefrequency allocation of PCFICH corresponding to cell ID+3.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a thirdmodification of the second embodiment. In the third modification, thefrequency allocation of CSI-RS is performed while being shifted in thefrequency direction for each sub-frame in accordance with the framenumber Sub-frame # in the time direction.

Here, attention may be focused on the viewpoint of the above-describednotification information, and CSI-RS may be allocated in RBs which areshifted every sub-frame not containing a sub-frame in which notificationinformation is transmitted. CSI-RS is not allocated in a sub-frame inwhich notification information is transmitted. According to theconfiguration, RBs in which CSI-RS is allocated are constant at aspecific period irrespective of existence/non-existence of notificationinformation. Therefore, LTE user equipments which are located in cellsare requested only to measure CQI in a sub-frame in which notificationinformation is transmitted, and a circuit which is necessary for CQImeasurement in an LTE user equipment can be simplified. In the casewhere CSI-RS is allocated to different RBs among cells in order to avoidinterference of RSs among cells, the relationship of RBs where CSI-RS isallocated (the RB allocation relationship for avoiding interference) ismaintained among cells irrespective of existence/non-existence ofnotification information, and hence the effect of mitigatinginterference is not deteriorated.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a fourthmodification of the second embodiment. Although the second embodiment isconfigured so as to use the frequency allocation of PCFICH, theembodiment may use the frequency allocation of CCE (Control channelelement) which is used in a downlink control channel, as in the fourthmodification. Specifically, the frequency resource corresponding to aCCE-ID which is previously informed is diverted as shown in FIG. 9.

CCEs are arranged in the ascending order of CCE-IDs, then interleaved inthe unit of Resource element group (REG), and sequentially stored in acorresponding control signal region. A user equipment functioning as areception apparatus can find the frequency allocation of correspondingCCE from CCE-IDs which are previously informed, and hence determinesthat corresponding frequency resources are storing locations of CSI-RS(regions indicated by net-like hatching in the figure) with startingfrom the last OFDM symbol in a sub-frame at the number same as the timeaxis symbols of the corresponding REG. Then, the operation of measuringthe channel quality is performed by using CSI-RS which is allocated inthe position. The CCE allocation may be sometimes changed in accordancewith the width of the control signal region which is changeable in theunit of a sub-frame. A configuration where three symbols are used instoring CSI-RS may be fixedly set. Although CSI-RS is set time axissymbols of the same number as CCE, only the last symbol may be used, orthe last two symbols may be always used.

Also in the modulations, similarly with the second embodiment,deterioration of the demodulation performance in an LTE user equipmentcan be avoided, and, since the resource notification of the frequencyallocation of the control information is diverted, CSI-RS can beallocated in the system band in a widely distributed manner.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in a thirdembodiment. The third embodiment is an example in which the firstembodiment is partly modified. The first embodiment is configured sothat CSI-RS is transmitted by a predetermined RB/Sub-frame. As in thethird embodiment, when a resource in which CSI-RS is allocated isnotified, the bitmap technique which is used in LVRB may be used.

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, by the bitmap techniquewhich is used in RA-type0 (Resource allocation-type0), RB/Sub-frames forCSI-RS transmission (RB0, RB1, RB3, RB5, RB7, RB8, RB10, RB12, RB14,RB15 in the illustrated example) are informed by using a bitmap of 1/0.Here, it is assumed that CSI-RS is allocated in several symbols from theend of the last half side of the corresponding RB/Sub-frame.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the CSI-RS transmission method in amodification of the third embodiment. In the case where the system bandwidth is broad, Resource block group (RBG) is defined in the bitmaptechnique of LVRB, and an operation of increasing the particle size ofthe frequency resource indicated by 1 bit of the bitmap is performed. Inthis case, a configuration where, as shown in FIG. 11, CSI-RS isallocated in the RB/Sub-frame of the largest number in RBG may beemployed. In addition to this, the offset amount (0 to (RBG−1)) of theRB number is informed, thereby enabling the CSI-RS allocation to be set.FIG. 11 shows a configuration where, in the case of RBG=4, CSI-RS isallocated in RB (RB3 in RBG of RB1 to RB3) of the largest number. Inthis case, the offset amount corresponds to RBG−1=3.

Also in the third embodiment, similarly with the first embodiment,puncture of the data part by CSI-RS can be prevented from affecting thesystematic bit, and deterioration of the demodulation performance in anLTE user equipment can be avoided. Furthermore, the resource allocationnotification of LVRB is diverted, so that, similarly with the secondembodiment, CSI-RS can be allocated in the system band in a widelydistributed manner.

In the invention, it is expected that those skilled in the art willchange or apply the matters based on the description in the descriptionand the well-known technique without departing the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and such a change or application is included in the rangeto be protected. Furthermore, components of the embodiments may bearbitrarily combined with one another without departing the spirit ofthe invention.

In the description of the embodiments, antennas are adopted, but theembodiments can also be applied to an antenna port. The antenna portrefers to a logical antenna configured by one or a plurality of physicalantennas. That is, the antenna port does not necessarily refer to onephysical antenna, and may refer to an array antenna configured by of aplurality of antennas, or the like. In LTE, for example, the number ofphysical antennas constituting an antenna port is not particularlydefined, and is defined as the minimum unit in which a base station cantransmit different Reference signals. The antenna port may be defined asthe minimum unit for multiplying weighting of Precoding vector.

Although, in the embodiments, the case where the invention is configuredby hardware has been exemplarily described, the invention can berealized by software.

Typically, the functional blocks which are used in the descriptions ofthe embodiments are realized in the form of an LSI which is anintegrated circuit. They may be individually integrated in one chip, orpart or all of them may be integrated in one chip. Although such anintegrated circuit is referred to as an LSI, such an integrated circuitmay be called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSIdepending on the degree of integration.

The method of realizing such an integrated circuit is not limited to anLSI, and the integrated circuit may be realized by a dedicated circuitor a general-purpose processor. Alternatively, it is also possible touse an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) which can be programmedafter the production of the LSI, or a reconfigurable processor in whichthe connections or settings of circuit cells in the LSI can bereconfigured.

Furthermore, with the advancement of semiconductor technologies or othertechnologies derived therefrom, when integrated circuit technologieswhich reallocate LSIs emerge, it is a matter of course that thefunctional blocks may be integrated using such technologies. Theapplications of biotechnologies, and the like are possible.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (No.2009-063120) filed on Mar. 16, 2009, and its content is incorporatedherein by reference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The invention has an effect that, in the case where a second referencesignal for a second communication system is transmitted in addition to afirst reference signal for a first communication system, resources thataffect a reception apparatus compatible only with the firstcommunication system can be minimized, and the throughput can beprevented from being deteriorated, and is useful as a radio receptionapparatus, a radio transmission apparatus, and a radio communicationmethod which are applicable to a radio communication system such as acellular system.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   111 a, 111 b: antenna    -   112 a, 112 b: reception RF section    -   113: channel estimator    -   114: CQI measuring section    -   115: MIMO demodulator    -   116: decoder    -   117: CRC checker    -   118: feedback information generator    -   119: encoder    -   120: multiplexer    -   121: transmission RF section    -   122: control signal demodulator    -   231 m, 231 n: user equipment signal processor    -   232: encoder/modulator    -   233: precoding processor    -   234 a to 234 d, 234 e to 234 h: transmission RF section    -   235 a to 235 d, 235 e to 235 h: antenna    -   236: scheduler    -   237: CSI-RS allocation setting section    -   238: CSI-RS generator    -   239: LTE 4RS generator    -   241: reception RF section    -   242: separator    -   243: demodulator/decoder    -   244: CRC checker

The invention claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit to control a process,the process comprising: receiving a first reference signal mapped insymbols of both a former half and a latter half of a subframe accordingto a time direction; receiving a second reference signal mapped to onlylast two symbols in the latter half of the subframe; receiving data thatis mapped in a given symbol of the subframe in a frequency direction andthen mapped in a symbol, which is next to the given symbol in the timedirection, of the subframe in the frequency direction, the data beingcomprised of systematic bits first followed by parity bits; andcalculating channel quality using at least the received second referencesignal, and demodulates the received data, wherein the first referencesignal is a Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) reference signal in a LTEcommunication system, and the second reference signal is a LTE-Advancedreference signal in a LTE-Advanced communication system.
 2. Theintegrated circuit according to claim 1, comprising: circuitry which, inoperation, controls the process; at least one input coupled to thecircuitry, wherein the at least one input, in operation, inputs data;and at least one output coupled to the circuitry, wherein the at leastone output, in operation, outputs data.
 3. The integrated circuitaccording to claim 1, wherein the second reference signal is mapped in agiven subframe of a plurality of subframes, and the first referencesignal is mapped in all of the plurality of subframes.
 4. The integratedcircuit according to claim 1, wherein the second reference signal is notreceived in a subframe where a transmission of the second referencesignal collides with a transmission of Physical Broadcast Channel(“PBCH”) or System Information Block 1 (“SIB1”).
 5. The integratedcircuit according to claim 1, wherein the process comprises receivinginformation related to a mapping of the second reference signal.
 6. Theintegrated circuit according to claim 5, wherein the informationindicates a subframe where the second reference signal is mapped.
 7. Theintegrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the second referencesignal is cell-specific.
 8. The integrated circuit according to claim 1,wherein the second reference signal is used for calculating at least oneof Channel Quality Indicator (“CQI”), Precoding Matrix Indicator (“PMI”)or Rank Indication (“RI”).
 9. The integrated circuit according to claim1, wherein the second reference signal is a Channel StateInformation-Reference Signal (“CSI-RS”).
 10. The integrated circuitaccording to claim 1, wherein a number of antenna ports in theLTE-Advanced communication system is greater than a number of antennaports in the LTE communication system.
 11. An integrated circuitcomprising circuitry, which, in operation: controls reception of: afirst reference signal mapped in symbols of both a former half and alatter half of a subframe according to a time direction; a secondreference signal mapped to only last two symbols in the latter half ofthe subframe; and data that is mapped in a given symbol of the subframein a frequency direction and then mapped in a symbol, which is next tothe given symbol in the time direction, of the subframe in the frequencydirection, the data being comprised of systematic bits first followed byparity bits; and calculates channel quality using at least the receivedsecond reference signal, and demodulates the received data, wherein thefirst reference signal is a Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) reference signalin a LTE communication system, and the second reference signal is aLTE-Advanced reference signal in a LTE-Advanced communication system.12. The integrated circuit according to claim 11, comprising: at leastone input coupled to the circuitry, wherein the at least one input, inoperation, inputs data; and at least one output coupled to thecircuitry, wherein the at least one output, in operation, outputs data.13. The integrated circuit according to claim 11, wherein the secondreference signal is mapped in a given subframe of a plurality ofsubframes, and the first reference signal is mapped in all of theplurality of subframes.
 14. The integrated circuit according to claim11, wherein the second reference signal is not received in a subframewhere a transmission of the second reference signal collides with atransmission of Physical Broadcast Channel (“PBCH”) or SystemInformation Block 1 (“SIB1”).
 15. The integrated circuit according toclaim 11, wherein the circuitry, in operation, controls reception ofinformation related to a mapping of the second reference signal.
 16. Theintegrated circuit according to claim 15, wherein the informationindicates a subframe where the second reference signal is mapped. 17.The integrated circuit according to claim 11, wherein the secondreference signal is cell-specific.
 18. The integrated circuit accordingto claim 11, wherein the second reference signal is used for calculatingat least one of Channel Quality Indicator (“CQI”), Precoding MatrixIndicator (“PMI”) or Rank Indication (“RI”).
 19. The integrated circuitaccording to claim 11, wherein the second reference signal is a ChannelState Information-Reference Signal (“CSI-RS”).
 20. The integratedcircuit according to claim 11, wherein a number of antenna ports in theLTE-Advanced communication system is greater than a number of antennaports in the LTE communication system.